GE2025: PSP to field former West Coast A-team member in Marymount, ex-SAF scholar in Kebun Baru

SINGAPORE – The opposition PSP will return to contest in Marymount and Kebun Baru, fielding candidates with previous election experience in the two single-member constituencies.

The party will be fielding Mr Jeffrey Khoo, 56, who was a member of the PSP’s best performing team in the 2020 polls, in Marymount SMC.

Former National Solidarity Party (NSP) member Tony Tan, 55,

will be standing in Kebun Baru SMC under the PSP banner.

Speaking to reporters at Bishan North Shopping Mall on April 17, Mr Khoo, chief executive of a regional risk consulting firm, said that the party was familiar with Marymount, having contested there in the previous polls.

“We have been here before. Dr Ang was here for a period of time, and we have done quite a few market visits. I have a lot of friends that stay here. So I would say that we understand the place well,” he said, referring to the party’s former Marymount candidate Ang Yong Guan, who lost to PAP’s Gan Siow Huang in the 2020 election.

Dr Ang garnered 44.96 per cent of the vote share, while Ms Gan won with 55.04 per cent. Of the five SMCs that the PSP contested and lost in GE2020, the party performed best in Marymount. But following a suspension of his medical licence, Dr Ang, a psychiatrist, said in early 2025 that he will not participate in the upcoming election.

On his candidacy in Marymount SMC, Mr Khoo said he would tackle the perennial issues of cost of living, education and jobs, which are concerns that have been voiced by Singaporeans across constituencies.

“Wherever we go, wherever we contest, we are all talking about Singaporeans… so our conversations will always (involve) the same thing,” he said, adding that it might be a new constituency for him, but the concerns are “pretty much the same”.

Mr Khoo was part of the PSP A-Team – led by party chairman Tan Cheng Bock – that was fielded in the 2020 polls in West Coast GRC.

The PSP team then lost with 48.32 per cent of the vote against the PAP team’s 51.68 per cent – making it the narrowest win for the ruling party in the 2020 election.

Mr Khoo’s West Coast teammates, Mr Leong Mun Wai and Ms Hazel Poa, later took up Non-Constituency MP seats in Parliament as the top losers of the polls.

Mr Khoo, who is a father of three, said he has an interest in climate change and has done work involving parametric insurance – which is an insurance payout that can be triggered in specific instances of climate risk or natural disasters, including earthquakes or excess rainfall.

Meanwhile, PSP’s Kebun Baru candidate, Mr Tony Tan, is a former Singapore Armed Forces scholarship holder with a background in engineering. He is married to Ms Poa, who is the party’s first vice-chairperson.

He is also a co-founder of a private education and gaming firm.

“I hope that we can build a better Singapore... and we should strive not to leave anyone behind,” said Mr Tan.

He also said that more can be done on the social support and education fronts to “better realise the potential of every individual Singaporean” and “maximise their contribution” to the community.

Mr Tan, who has two sons, has been volunteering with the PSP since the party was founded in 2019. He also contested Chua Chu Kang GRC while he was with the NSP in the 2011 General Election. In the 2020 polls, he helped with Ms Poa’s campaign when she stood for election in West Coast GRC.

Both PSP candidates were on April 17 introduced by party founder Tan Cheng Bock, who had earlier indicated that he intends to stand in the coming election.

“I’m actually going to be 85 soon, in a couple of days. I will be able to contribute, and I still think I can contribute,” Dr Tan said, without confirming if or revealing where he would be fielded, should he run in the polls.

“I go everywhere... Our goal is to let Singaporeans know that they need a good voice, and currently, the (number of) opposition members in the House is too small... but generally, we need that voice in the House to articulate all the issues that are presented to us,” said Dr Tan.

When asked if there is a chance that former WP MP Leon Perera would be a candidate for PSP in the upcoming election, Dr Tan said: “He’s not standing with us.”

Mr Perera, who previously said he was assisting the party and was not a member, was on April 15 seen entering the PSP’s party headquarters for a meeting after the Writ of Election was issued.

While the PAP has yet to announce its candidate for the 2025 polls, Mr Khoo will likely face off against the incumbent Marymount MP, Ms Gan. The 51-year-old, who is the Minister of State for Education and Manpower, in March said she hopes to contest Marymount again.

Mr Tony Tan will likely come up against the PAP’s incumbent Kebun Baru MP, Mr Henry Kwek.

Another opposition party, the People’s Alliance for Reform (PAR), had also said earlier that it intends to contest in Marymount SMC, which could result in a potential three-cornered fight for the seat.

Mr Leong, who is PSP chief, is in talks with the PAR, said Mr Khoo, adding that “things will pan out well by itself”.